The Palliative Care Information Act in Real Life

The Palliative Care Information Act in Real Life | Health Policy and Reform: New York’s Palliative Care Information Act took effect on February 9, 2011. Sponsored by the advocacy group Compassion and Choices New York, the law on its face simply mandates that physicians practice good medicine in caring for patients with a poor prognosis: “If a patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness or condition, the patient’s attending health care practitioner shall offer to provide the patient with information and counseling regarding palliative care and end-of-life options appropriate to the patient, including . . . prognosis, risks and benefits of the various options; and the patient’s legal rights to comprehensive pain and symptom management.”